Don't take the IGF from universities - Prof Adei

Ho, April 28, GNA - Professor Stephen Adei, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Ashesi University College, has cautioned government against taking the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) from public universities.

He said the IGFs have become the backbone for many universities and 'government must be interested in what the IGF is used for and [does not need to take it away] from the universities.'

Prof Adei said this at the 9th Biennial Congress of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Alumni at Ho.

The event was held under the theme: 'Re-engineering funding of tertiary education in Ghana; The role of the Alumni.'

Prof Adei said quality higher education was expensive and for government to ensure that no child was denied tertiary education, it must increase the student loan to cater for the accommodation and feeding for students.

He said government also ought to stop blanket scholarships for students and target students offering particular courses.

Prof Adei urged the universities to be entrepreneurial because government could not fund tertiary education alone.

He said it is important for them to court their alumni associations because they were the best ambassadors for universities and constituted a bigger source of funding than government.

'In developing economies, universities draw support from alumni associations for mentoring, funding…, and this is what we should be doing,' Prof Adei said.

Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, said there are situations where brilliant students dropped out of universities due to financial challenges and called on alumni associations to help address such situations saying 'just as a ship is known by its boats and a tree by its fruits, an institution is also known by its illustrious alumni.'

Prof Kwasi Obiri-Danso, Vice Chancellor, KNUST, in a speech read on his behalf, said the University has developed a new strategic corporate vision anchored on being the premier science and technology university in Ghana and among the top 10 in Africa.

He said in view of recent socio-academic challenges facing students, the University has strengthened its counselling units and reviewed the academic calendar to reduce stress among students.

Prof Obiri-Danso said the main challenge facing the University was funding and pleaded with government to allow the University to use its IGF to improve infrastructure.

Madam Eunice Akosua Ofosua Amoako, Global President, KNUST Alumni, said the theme for the congress was to throw focus on the responsibility of 'Teknokrats' and all alumni associations to proactively seek to position themselves to lead the drive to re-engineer funding to tertiary education in the country. GNA

By A.B. Kafui Kanyi, GNA